Frozen heart
by Dave2380
Summary: What happens when Remy overreacts to an innocent scene? He loses the man he loves. For the record, i don't really hate Gambit, he was just irritating me at the time of writing.


Frozen Heart.

_I dunno about this Jean Paul._

_It's okay Bobby, there's no one around._

_Well if you're sure…_

Which naturally was when Remy walked in to find his boyfriend Iceman in the arms of Northstar. And just as calmly turned on his heel and walked out of the mansion, and away from the X-men for a year.

In retrospect Bobby realised that what he should have done was chase after Remy and explain, but who was to know the cajun would have just walked out of his life over such a small thing. He had been confident that Remy would have trusted in the strength of their relationship and at least come back to confront him or talk it over.

So much for that idea.

The first letter arrived two days later, one of those thick vellum envelopes Remy had loved so much, it's contents however were anything but loving. A postcard of the statue of liberty with three lipstick kisses on the reverse, and a bunch of Polaroids involving Remy and three women in various different positions. The instant he saw those pictures, part of Bobby Drake's heart shattered, as did every pipe in the mansion as a wave of ice froze them solid.

Over the course of the next year the letters kept coming, never a word on any of them, just Polaroids and postcards. Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sedona, New Orleans, Des Moines, Lubbock, San Francisco. The rest of the X-men learned to avoid Bobby whenever they saw one of those thick envelopes in the mail. It wasn't that they were uncaring or didn't want to help, it was simply that after the third time Wolverine had been flash frozen the rest of the team started to get a little bit wary of their formerly jovial friend.

Bobby threw himself into Danger Room sessions and power development exercises, his powers and control over them came on by leaps and bounds. Everyone was in awe of his developmental progress, apart from the Professor who cautioned Bobby against pushing too far too fast. The last thing the X-men needed was another Dark Phoenix on their hands.

And then, a year and a day after walking out of the X-Mansion, Remy Lebeau tooled up the driveway in a cherry red Ferrari.

*****

Bobby was in the Danger Room, running one of Logan's simulations and kicking seven kinds of crap out of the holographic Hand Ninja's . Without his powers. The simulation froze and flickered out of existence, to be replaced by mirrored walls, and two men, Bobby and Jean Paul, in each others arms, making out, another pair flickered into existence, and another, and another, until Bobby was surrounded by variations on the same image, him and Jean Paul in every sexual position imaginable.

With a sigh Bobby gathered his powers and flash froze the entire danger room, replacing the very air with ice and shattering all the holographic images. Exiting the Danger Room he saw Remy. And felt absolutely nothing. Those red on black eyes that had once promised so many secrets and shown so much love, now held only spite, those lips that he had kissed a thousand times were curled into a cruel sneer.

_What's the matter cher, can't handle the truth?_

_If you think that's the truth then you're an idiot Remy._

_Looked like it to me, putain!_

_I'll bow to your superior knowledge in that field._

Bobby walked past Remy and headed up to his room.

Remy continued his verbal sparring marches with Bobby whenever he could catch him alone for the next few days. Until he found himself face to face with Northstar and decided to vent his frustration on him.

_Bonjour Jean Paul, thief of boyfriends._

_What was that Lebeau?_

_Was he good then? If you have the time maybe we can trade notes cher._

_He? Oh you think Bobby and I? Ha Lebeau tu es un imbecile._

_Oh like you such hot stuff?_

_I'm not making ludicrous allegations cajun that's you, when you aren't busy destroying your relationships._

_What do you mean?_

_Ask Bobby and see ,if you can handle the truth._

Remy wasn't quite sure what to make of that conversation, he milled aimlessly through the mansion for the next couple of days, doing his bit on missions, ignoring the faintly disgusted looks he got from the other X-men. Finally he plucked up his courage and went to Bobby's room.

_Bobby._

_Get Lost._

_I need to talk to you._

_I'm not interested in your needs._

_Please._

The door opened and Bobby lounged in the doorframe, lean and well muscled, and the old familiar ache came back to Remy.

_Well?_

_Can I come in?_

_Not even when hell freezes over. Get to the point._

_Cold cher, real cold._

_You have no idea what cold is._

_Jean Paul, he said, there wasn't anything' between you._

_He was right, we were, and are friends, just friends._

_Mais, what'd I see that day, if'n y'all are just good friends._

Bobby walked into his room and picked up a shoebox, before coming back to the doorway.

_What you saw was Jean Paul trying to teach me to dance. For this._

He reached into the box and pulled out two tickets for a Masquerade ball in Salem Centre.

_I saw these on one of our dates, and it was going to be held on your birthday, so I bought tickets, and arranged a limo and bought a pair of Tux's for us. And Jean Paul offered to teach me to dance, because I have two left feet. You caught me learning to dance. Then you stormed out, and then I got this._

Bobby reached into the box and dropped the first letter on the floor, emphasising his words by dropping a letter, watching impassively as the postcards and polaroids fell out of their envelopes and littered the floor.

_And this one, and that, and that, and that, and that. The one from San Francisco though, that hurt the most, because I got it on your birthday, and we always said we'd go one day. Well I'm glad you enjoyed your little romp. You destroyed us Remy, all because of something in your head. And now there's nothing left._

With that he dropped the box, turned and walked into his room and locked the door, leaving Remy on his knees surrounded by postcards and polaroids, and the bitter realisation of just how much he had fucked up.

*****

A week later and Remy had had no chance to talk to Bobby, in fact no one had seen him in days. Finally unable to bear it any longer, he went to Bobby's room, determined to at least try to apologise, if nothing else to check that Bobby was ok.

Picking the lock was cinch, he opened the door to find an empty room, the bed was bare with all the linens folded neatly and piled on a chair beside the bed. The closet was empty, there were no personal effects, all there was, was a dvd labelled Remy.

Heading to his room Remy slid the dvd into the player and sat down to watch it, it showed the interior of Bobby's room, and slowly came into focus on Bobby. His face was bleak and his blue eyes were stormy as he spoke.

_I thought of doing this by letter, but that's so cold and impersonal, besides a letter doesn't adequately convey the rage and hurt I feel, and if I want to vent them then it's only fair you should get to see how much you hurt me. I don't know if any of that'll come out, but I wanted the option, I wanted you to see how badly you hurt me. I told you about how you made me happy, truly content when I was in your arms. I didn't have that nasty little voice in my head that sounds like my dad and says I'm a freak. I was happy. And we worked, you know we actually did, of course I thought we did but hey, you stormed off after one little innocent scene, that you made into a whole damn drama worth wrecking what we had for. It's funny, because that first night I thought you'd be back, we'd argue and I'd explain what happened, you'd laugh and we'd have great make up sex. But no. You went walkabout and slept your way across America. The sad thing was that even after that first postcard I would have taken you back. But that night when the masquerade was going to be held, your birthday, that's when I decided enough was enough. So you're back now and that's cool, you're an X-man. But if you're there I won't be. Because I can't even look at you. I never want to see you again Remy Etienne Lebeau, because if I do I can't guarantee I wont kill you. So goodbye Remy, have a nice life, or go to hell. See if I care._

The screen fizzed into static and Remy wept.

*****

Inside his office the Professor was watching his own dvd. In it Bobby looked solemn and thoughtful, an adult at last.

_Hi Professor, I hope you'll forgive me for being so spineless and doing a runner, but I couldn't stay in the mansion anymore, not with him there. No I don't want you to exile him from the mansion, I'm not that petty, although I was tempted. For an hour or two. I just wanted to let you and the guys know not to worry and that I'm fine. By now I'll be right in the centre of the North Pole. You see ever since we had that encounter with the Midgar Vanir and Thor, way back when I've been mulling over their words. Both Ymir and Thor believed I was an elemental, and handily the world could do with an Ice elemental right now. I'm going to the arctic and I'm going to stabilise and restore the polar icecaps. It needs doing and I can do it, the only problem is, once I start it I don't think I'll be able to stop it, unless the ozone layer mends itself. But hey I'm an X-man, we do all the difficult jobs, right? Be well Professor and look after everyone._

_The Professor nodded as if in acknowledgement and turned off his television. Heading into the mansion he resolved to tell his students in the morning._

_*****_

_At the exact centre of the north pole stands a mountain of ice that slowly expands, locking more polar ice in place. And deep in the centre of that icy mountain if you look hard, you can almost make out the contours of a smiling Bobby Drake in ice form._


End file.
